Despite what kids say—usually with pleading, desperate eyes—an iPad or a pair of $200 jeans isn't really going to help them on the most anxiety-inducing day of the year. Here's what will.

By Leigh Newman

The Name of the Teacher

The most obvious things are the ones we most always overlook. The name of the insufficiently paid, heroic individual who is going to make sure your kid can subtract or prove geometric theorems has been sitting on the kitchen counter all summer, twinkling at the bottom of a form. A parent can glance at it once and be ready. For kids, though, names are so much harder to remember. Quizzing your child on his teacher 's name until he nails it tells him, "Hey! This person is not just a hand puppet with chalk. She's a human being, the one you will respect and may, in very special cases, also adore." After having been greeted by her name—no mispronounced syllables—the teacher is, of course, all the more likely to give some of that respect and adoration back to your child.